Every fall, I am reminded why I love living in Delaware. The forests glow with brilliant color that takes my breath away. Here are a few of my favorite spots to go leaf-peeping in Autumn.
Northern Delaware
Winterthur Museum, Garden and Library
Winterthur Museum, Garden and Library in the Brandywine Valley offers various tours, exhibitions, and interactive programs for children and adults. It includes a former DuPont mansion, and in the fall they celebrate the season by having Halloween days in October. The kids like to dress up and enjoy the children’s garden and enchanted woods. There are thousands of acres of hilly meadows and woods, which glow with fall colors each October. This area is beautiful to drive through, both in terms of the rolling forested hills as the leaves are changing, and the beautiful homes throughout the area.
Nemours Estate
Nemours Estate is another DuPont property with ornately ornamented lawns, gardens, and estate. It is a quick walk from the ticket area to the estate, and also a breathtaking one. Golden statues, marble pools, immaculate pavilions and fields of heavy blooms are brilliant in early autumn. You will find friendly and knowledgeable docents at the house if you’d like to see how the ultra-wealthy lived during the gilded age. Children 5 and under are free. The estate is closed Mondays.
Bellevue State Park
Bellevue State Park, yet another former DuPont estate, lies a few miles away. Delaware state parks are affordable, with an in-state fee of $4 per vehicle, and $8 for out-of-staters. William DuPont’s home, Bellevue Hall, stands in the middle of the park, as well as a number of other structures and several playgrounds. There are always lovely horses to be seen, as the park includes horse stables, indoor horse training facilities, and a 1 ⅛ mile long horse track. There is a fishing pond that provides beautiful reflections of the autumn trees, a disk golf course, and a paved part of the Northern Delaware Greenway runs through the park.
Carousel Park
Carousel Park is a completely free county park with a lovely playground, horses, and even a little “Western town” area where the stables are located. It’s a beautiful place to catch a sunset. It also includes a dog park and many lovely paths that are great for leaf-peeping.
Mt Cuba Center
Mt. Cuba Center is a former du Pont estate featuring formal and naturalistic gardens featuring woodlands, ponds and meadows. You can find a lot of information here about native plants, and it’s a lovely place for a long walk outside. Children 5 and under are free. The Center is closed Mondays and Tuesdays.
Southern Delaware
Trap Pond State Park
Trap Pond State Park is about the farthest north you can find a bald cypress swamp. It has a nice network of walking and biking trails, bike rentals, a nature center, restrooms and playgrounds. Not to mention, the pond itself is a popular spot for kayaking and boating. All of this is made even more special in October when the trees put on a brilliant show.
Killens Pond State Park
Killens Pond in Felton, DE is the only state park in Kent County, but it is a beautiful one. The pond itself is lovely reflecting the trees, especially in autumn, and is surrounded by about a two and a half mile trail that is quite flat. It’s a pleasant place for fishing or boating, and has quite a nice nature center. The cost to enter is $4 for in-state vehicles and $8 for out-of-state.
Bombay Hook National Wildlife Refuge
Bombay Hook National Wildlife Refuge is a gorgeous reserve in the northern part of Kent county, near the city of Smyrna. It is a beautiful wetland renowned for it’s birds. There is a 12 mile wildlife drive that loops around the refuge, and five walking trails (two are paved), with three observation towers, which offer a great place to take photos and get a good view of the birds on the water, especially in spring and fall when they migrate, and during sunrise and sunset. There are thousands of snow geese, ducks and other waterfowl that pass through the refuge. The cost is $4 per vehicle, and there is a visitor center. The lower marsh vegetation offers a different sort of fall experience that what you find in most of the forests of Delaware.